Yahoo's PR operation has been a disaster of late. Its former top flack maybe leaked an ex-employee's nasty performance evaluation; another was caught sleeping during a shareholder's meeting. So Yahoo spread word: its new guy is nice and conscious!

A Yahoo tipster who sat through a webcast of the company's annual meeting lets us know that…
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An internal memo about the new VP of Corporate Communications, Eric Brown, was obtained by Kara Swisher of All Things Digital. In it, Yahoo is careful to describe Brown's "bad habit of eating ice cream in bed while reading my Kindle and surfing the web."

Also, his "partner's name is Scot, he has a Pomeranian named Clio, a passion for cooking and travel." So adorable!

Less cuddly: Brown is tasked with enforcing his boss Carol Bartz's edict that anyone caught leaking information will get "dropkicked to fucking Mars."

Eric is joining Yahoo! at a particularly pivotal time, as we update our corporate position and message, develop and execute a renewed global brand strategy and launch major new products and solutions. Eric will be tasked with more closely integrating the global communications team with broader marketing initiatives and the company's overall business strategy. A critical objective will be to set the communications agenda and drive Yahoo!'s message to our various constituencies–the media, analysts, consumers, employees, and key industry influencers who create buzz and can have a significant impact on how our brand is perceived.

Eric is a Silicon Valley communications veteran with 18 years of tech experience. Most recently, Eric and I collaborated at NetApp, where he spent the last nine years helping to transform the company into a multibillion dollar global enterprise. As Vice President of Corporate Relations, Eric managed a large global team and strategic communications program. He was the core communications executive responsible for the company's recent revamp of brand strategy and execution. He also played a significant communications role in helping the company gain recognition by Fortune magazine as the "Best Company to Work for in America" in 2009. Prior to NetApp, Eric was the head of PR for Adaptec responsible for B2B, brand and consumer communications, and held additional leadership positions in both corporate and agency environments.

On a personal note, Eric's partner's name is Scot, he has a Pomeranian named Clio, a passion for cooking and travel, and a self-described "bad habit of eating ice cream in bed while reading my Kindle and surfing the web."

Eric will join us in early July, so please join me in giving him a warm welcome. I look forward to his leadership contributions in this vitally important role at Yahoo!.